Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. has directed the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to expand its Direct Commission Program to attract highly qualified professionals and develop a more agile, technologically capable, and multidisciplinary military force.

The directive seeks to enhance the recruitment and commissioning of qualified Advance Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) graduates, deserving enlisted personnel, and highly skilled professionals in critical fields such as cyber operations, artificial intelligence, engineering, aviation, communications, research and development, and other emerging technologies essential to a modernizing and expanding armed force.

The DND also instructed the AFP to establish merit-based pathways for commissioning outstanding enlisted personnel, consider reasonable accommodations for qualified persons with disabilities whose expertise is vital to defense missions, and develop appropriate training and career development programs for personnel recruited through these non-traditional entry pathways.

All implementing guidelines must remain consistent with existing laws and uphold the AFP's professional, operational, and security standards.

The expanded Direct Commission Program supports the AFP's modernization efforts and the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept by ensuring the Armed Forces can attract, develop, and retain the specialized talent needed to address evolving defense and security challenges and safeguard national security.

By strengthening the AFP's human capital, the DND said it continues to build the capabilities required to defend the nation, sustain internal security gains, and address emerging threats in an increasingly complex strategic environment.